Mohsin Raza/REUTERS

A PIA air plane was forced to land after a passenger threatened that he could hijack the plane.

Bad week for Pakistan airlines: Hijack threat forces Pakistan plane to land

KARACHI — An airliner was forced to land shortly after takeoff in Pakistan on Friday after a passenger made a hijack threat, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) officials said.

This is the second time this week that a Pakistani airline has made the news; earlier this week, a Boeing 737 crashed near Islamabad, killing all on board.

PIA flight PK-586 turned back to its port city of Karachi after an airline hostess informed the captain that a passenger had threatened to hijack the plane, reported The Times of India.

The domestic flight carrying more than 50 passengers and five crew was on its way to the eastern city of Bahawalpur, a spokesman for the national flag-carrier said.

“Soon after the plane took off a passenger on board warned the staff that he could hijack the plane,” Sultan Hasan told AFP.

“The captain was informed of the situation, who returned the plane back after getting the nod from the control tower.”

The passenger was detained and handed over to security personnel for questioning, PIA said, and the plane was searched and found safe.

According to The Times of India, the passenger told security he had been fighting with the hostess and had no real intention of hijacking the plane.